Daily Asia briefing

European consumers, spooked by rising oil prices due to the Middle East conflict, rushed to buy battery-powered cars last month, with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands poised to reap the benefits and give their global...

The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that US President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan. The White Hous...

As the US-Israel war on Iran raises global concerns about energy security, a new report has found that the clean power sector is rapidly gaining ground and emerging as a solution for nations looking to reduce their relia...

Indonesia says it is not choosing sides. That is true in diplomacy. It is less true on the map. The “major defence cooperation partnership” announced by Washington and Jakarta on April 13 is written in the safe language...

Hong Kong’s food safety watchdog has urged people with gluten allergies not to eat a Marks & Spencer yoghurt product after the allergen was found but not declared on the label. The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) said on Mo...

Japan issued a special advisory warning of a heightened risk of a "huge" earthquake following a powerful 7.5 magnitude tremor off its northern coast. The quake triggered tsunami alerts and evacuations, though no major da...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the occupation in southern Lebanon, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations. Iran-backed mili...

Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, the administration announced on Monday, after a series of alleged abuses of her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordi...

A senior Cuban diplomat on Monday confirmed recent talks in Havana with US officials, as the communist-led island faces a deep crisis over US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign. “I can confirm that a meeting betw...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he appointed Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington but said he would not have done so if he h...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington was a mistake, stating he wouldn't have proceeded had he known about failed security checks. Mandelson was dismissed after ne...

An Israeli soldier allegedly damaged a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the act. He stated that military authorities are investigating and will take discipl...

Klaudia Glam was injured in a serious London incident involving Gabrielle Carrington, who has been arrested. Police have not confirmed any death or motive yet. Rumours linking UK rapper Twin S to the fight are spreading...

For Tim Avanzato and the team at Lanca Sales, Monday marked the start of a high-stakes digital scramble to recover tariffs paid after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on almost all imports, including from C...

Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down from the job that he inherited from the late Steve Jobs, ending a nearly 15-year reign that saw the company’s market value soar by more than US$3.6 trillion during an iPhone-fuelled er...

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to Indian migration agent banned for five years in Australia for lying on visa applications.

Twitch streamer PlaqueBoyMax underwent a vasectomy at 23 following a pregnancy scare, seeking a permanent solution to avoid future fatherhood. He described the procedure as simple and quick, emphasizing his desire for pe...

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to 'Kash Patel does not drink to excess': 19-page lawsuit against Atlantic for $250 million details why FBI director 'freaked out'.

Hong Kong travellers in Japan were reported safe by at least one major tour operator while the Immigration Department said it was closely monitoring the situation after a powerful earthquake struck off the country’s nort...

The US-Israeli war on Iran has unleashed sharp swings across global energy and financial markets, fuelling demand for safe-haven assets, with Hong Kong emerging as a potential beneficiary across gold, property and capita...

China has released new regulations that aim to counter the “unjustified” extraterritorial use of foreign laws, the latest move to protect its interests from external threats. Analysts view the move as a shift from diplom...

China “has to be involved” in nuclear arms control talks, while the US must step up its nuclear modernisation, including deploying more bombers, a senator responsible for overseeing American strategic forces said on Mond...

A Canadian woman was shot dead and four other people were injured by a gunman on Monday at Mexico’s famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said. The gunman killed himself after opening fire at the popular tou...

HasanAbi reacted to Pragmata after players said the game made them think about starting a family. He questioned this reaction and shared his views during a live stream. He also raised concerns about the child-like charac...

A planned fight among young people escalated into a mass shooting at a North Carolina park on Monday morning that left two people dead, authorities said. The shooting happened at around 10am local time at Leinbach Park,...

Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over a probe into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. Prosecutors said they...

A court in southern Turkey sentenced eight people on Monday to prison terms over a 2024 cable car accident in the coastal resort of Antalya that killed one passenger and injured seven. Four of the defendants were convict...

Hong Kong police have arrested a 16-year-old garage worker for allegedly driving without a licence after he lost control of a Tesla car and crashed into a parked vehicle, pushing the latter through a property agency’s st...

Some land six-figure jobs to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars back to the regime.

Over a million UAE students returned to classrooms on Monday, April 20, for a full-scale resumption of in-person learning after weeks of distance education. Strict safety protocols and a nationwide traffic management pla...

Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission strongly criticised the military ⁠on Monday as it ⁠investigated the killing of 12 civilians ⁠last week during an operation against rebels in Papua province. The military said...

The news of Shin Daewe’s release from detention comes as a welcome relief.